Closures



June 5, 1956 C. D. MAGNESEN CLOSURES Filed Sept. 25, 1955 rT/l 1/ 11/ I fie. 4,

INVENTOR.

amass 0 finals/55's #4 2 irrmezvf fiai CLOSURES Charles D. Magnesen, Oak Park, 111., assignor to Magneseal Company, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Application September 25, 1953, Serial No. 382,340

3 Claims. (Cl. 220-60) My invention relates to improvements in the construction of hermetically sealed containers and closures or covers therefor.

My invention relates more particularly to the construction of a hermetically sealed container and cover of the type wherein the cover is removable to break the seal and replaceable to again hermetically reseal, the construction being such that the cover may be repeatedly removed and replaced, and whenever it is replaced it eiiectively seals the opening of the container.

Containers and closures of the general type to which this application relates are shown in my previously issued U. S. Patents No. 2,461,908, issued February 15, 1949, and No. 2,556,765, issued June 12, 1951.

It has been found that with the type of closure shown in the above mentioned patents and in various commercial constructions of the same, when packed containers are shipped and handled in a rough and abusive manner, as for example by throwing the same about, in some instances the retainer ring becomes damaged and loosened so that the containers can some open, thus breaking the original seal and permitting the contents to become spoiled, adulterated or wasted.

In order to overcome this objection to extensive use of this type of container and reseal closure for original packaging and shipping of edibles or other materials, I have provided an improvement in the construction whereby in the initial filling and closing of the container, the cover and the retainer ring are so constructed that a locked seal is obtained on the original closing of the container. The improved construction which I provide and to which this application relates presentsa locked, hermetically sealed container under which extreme rough handling of the containers will not loosen the retainer ring and cover or break the original hermetic sealed condition of the contents of the same.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide in a reseal combination an improved construction of container and closure whereby in the original attachment of the closure to the container, a locked, sealed condition is established.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction of the type described which permits of a locked, sealed condition of the closure on the container on the first application of the closure to the container, but which upon removal of the closure will permit repeated resealing of the closure on the container during its normal use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction of the type described wherein an initial locked, sealed condition of the closure and container is established and which upon repeated opening and closing of the container by the closure permits the establishment of a sealed container during normal use.

Other objects and advantages will be more apparent from the following description wherein reference is had to the accompanying drawings, upon which Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a container and closure of the type to which this invention relates, the

States Patent l acented June 5, 1956} container being foreshortened in height and the retainer ring of the closure being broken in section to more clearly show other parts of the same;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the new construction of retainer ring which I provide, the same being foreshortened as shown;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional View through the retainer ring closure and container taken generally on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, showing the initial lock seal that is accomplished with my new construction; and

Fig. 4 is a similar fragmentary vertical sectional view showing the slight deformation of the curled-over edges of the fingers which result from the initial opening of the lock seal fastening.

In the embodiment of the invention which i have chosen to illustrate and describe the same as shown in the drawings, I have shown a cylindrical container Ill having the bottom wall 12 and the open top or neck portion 14. The neck portion 14 terminates in an open upper end having an edge 16, the container also having a circular shoulder 18 at the upper edge of an inwardly directed groove 29 spaced a determined distance away from the open edge 16. The wall of the container lit may be outwardly flared at a distance below the groove 29 to form a protective bulge 22 of a width greater than the greatest width of any parts of the closure member.

The closure member 22 which I provide for a container or" this type may be formed with a circular ridge 2% about its periphery, the ridge having a plurality of downwardly depending finger members 26. A circular gasket 28 of rubber, synthetic rubber, plastic composition or other material having compressibility, is adapted to be positioned in the groove 3@ formed in the lower side of the ridge 24. The finger members 26 each have a ridge 32 intermediate their ends and have the lower ends of the same curled inwardly as shown at 34. This is for the purpose of effecting a locking grip below the ridge 1?) of the container as more clearly described in the aforementioned patents.

i provide a retainer ring 36 to seal and lock the cover in place on the mouth of the container, the retainer ring 36 being provided with an outwardly turned rolled-up lower edge 38 and an inwardly turned rolled edge 4!) at the top. It will be noted that the rolled up lower edge 33, instead of being at a tangent to the inner wall of the retainer ring, is bent inwardly slightly so that the inside diameter of the rolled edge is slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the skirt portion 37 of the retainer ring 36. With this construction when the retainer ring is pressed down over the cap 22, the ridges 32 are straightened out slightly to extend the fingers and the inwardly curled edges 34 are pressed into a locking and sealing position below the shoulder 18 of the container. As previously pointed out, in the initial filling and closing of the container the fact that the curled edge 3% is of a smaller diameter than the inner diameter of the flange 37 of the retainer ring-will result in a locking contact between the upper shoulder portion of the rolledover edge 38 and the lower peripheral surface of the inwardly turned curled-over edges 34 of the fingers 26.

In applying the retainer ring 36, it is again emphasized that the ridges 32 straighten somewhat from the angle shown so that the curled-over edges 34 at :the lower ends of the fingers can go down below the shoulder 18 into the groove 20 to permit the passage of the curledover lower edge 38 of the retainer ring without deformation or bending of the curled-over edges 34 of the fingers 26.

In this condition the closure member is not only in a sealing position over the open end of the container, but it is efiectively locked in place so that even in rough handling, dropping or otherwise abusing the containers, the container ring can not become loose and separated from the closure so that the seal is broken. The first opening or removal of the reseal closure will require considerable pressure as with a prying lever or other tool T to raise the curled-over bottom edge 38 of the retainer ring 36 above the curled-over lower edges of the fingers 26. This will also result in a slight deformation or bending of the curled-over edges 34 of the fingers 26, at the place where the tool is inserted.

In the original state the edges 34 are preferably curietl in a generally symmetrical circle and the action of removing the retainer ring will distort the circle into somewhat of an ellipse. This distortion is illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings wherein I have shown the retainer ring after a first removal replaced over the closure to again provide an effective seal of the contents which may remain in the container. I have found through extensive experimentation that this slight deformation or bending of some of the curled-over edges of the fingers has no harmful effect upon the sealing qualities of the closure in subsequent rescaling actions. The difference between the internal diameter of the retainer ring 32 and the internal diameter of the peripheral edge of the curled roll 38 may vary from approximately .003 to .008 of an inch in various standard sizes of containers and closures. In a comparatively large container, the difference in the internal diameters of these parts might be somewhat greater.

From the above and foregoing description it can be seen that l have provided an added feature or element of construction to the reseal closures shown in my previously mentioned patents. In the shipment of oatmeal and other solidly packed edibles to foreign countries, where the shipment is subject to severe and repeated handling such as loading into freight cars, unloading at docks, reloading on steamships annd unloading and reshipping the same at the destination, the containers are subjected to a severe test of the scalability of the closure on the container. It is for this reason that the inner curl is provided at the lower end of the retainer ring 32, it having been discovered that this effectively locks the reseal closure on the container and that it can only be removed by a prying action with a necessary tool for the original opening of the sealed container.

I contemplate that changes and modifications may be made in the exact details shown and I do not wish to be limited in any particular; rather what I desire to secure and protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The combination of a container and closure, said container having a cylindrical open end, a groove about Y the neck of said container spaced away from the open end thereof and a closure member adapted to fit over the open end of said top in a sealing condition, said closure member having a circular shoulder with a groove therein into which the open end of said container is positioned, a

compressible gasket in said groove, a plurality of downwardly depending fingers extending below the edge of said open end of said container, said fingers having curledover edges, and a removable and replaceable retainer ring which when positioned over said cover fastens the curled-over edges of said fingers into said groove to seal said cover on said container, the upper end of said retainer ring terminating in an inwardly curled head, the lower edge of said bead effecting line contact on top of the shoulder of the closure member and the lower edge of said retainer ring having 'an outwardly curled bead,

the inner edge of said bead being of a smaller diameter than the diameter of said retainer ring, whereby the closure is lock sealed in closing position and on initial opening the curled-over edges of said fingers are deformed to permit removal of said retainer ring but upon replacing the closure and retainer ring the closure will again be fastened by the retainer ring in a sealing condition.

2. The combination of a container and closure, said container having a cylindrical open end, a groove about the neck of said container spaced away from the open end thereof and a closure member adapted to fit over the open end of said top in a sealing condition, said closure member having a circular shoulder with a groove therein into which the open end of said container is positioned, a compressible gasket in said groove, a plurality of downwardly depending fingers extending below the edge of said open end of said container, said fingers having curledover edges, and a removable and replaceable retainer ring which when positioned over said cover fastens the curled-over edges of said fingers into said groove to seal said cover on said container, the upper end of said retainer ring terminating in an inwardly curled head, the lower edge of said bead effecting line contact on top of the shoulder of the closure member and the lower edge of said retainer ring having an outwardly curled bead, the inner edge of said bead being of a smaller diameter than the diameter of said retainer ring, whereby the closure is lock sealed in closing position below the curledover edges of said fingers and in removing the retainer a portion of said curled-over edges of said fingers is deformed on their outer sides to permit the removal of said retainer ring.

3. The combination of a container and closure, said container having a cylindrical open end, a groove about the neck of said container spaced away from the open end thereof and a closure member adapted to fit over the open end of said top in a sealing condition, a compressible gasket in said closure member overlying the open end of said container, a plurality of downwardly depending fingers extending below the edge of said open end of said container, said fingers having curled-over edges and a removable and replaceable retainer ring which when positioned over said cover fastens the curled-over edges of said fingers into said groove to seal said cover on said container, the upper end of said retainer ring terminating in an inwardly curled bead, the lower edge of said head effecting line contact on top of the shoulder of the closure member and the lower edge of said retainer ring having an outwardly curled bead, the inner edge of said bead being of a smaller diameter than the diameter of said retainer ring, whereby the closure is lock sealed in closing position and on initial opening the curled-over edges of said fingers are deformed to permit removal of said retainer ring but upon replacing the closure and re tainer ring the closure will again be fastened by the rctainer ring in a sealing condition.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,609,453 Atwood Dec. 7, 1926 2,121,843 Vaughn June 28, 1938 2,321,946 Sebell June 15, 1943 2,332,553 Benedict Oct. 26, 1943 2,339,343 Magnesen Ian. 18, 1944 

